CARTERVILLE, Ill. (WSIL) -- With just a few weeks before the start of classes, many in southern Illinois are wondering what the school year will be like for their children.
Child care centers are also looking for answers.
"We haven't really heard yet from the schools exactly what they're gonna do. I've heard speculations - some schools are gonna do this, some schools are gonna do that, but I haven't seen anything in writing. So I can't make a plan until I know what the plan from the schools," explained Lee Eklund, director of Malone's Early Learning Center in Carterville.Â
All the uncertainty is hard on everyone involved.
"It's pretty stressful on both the parents, us, and the children. Nobody knows what's gonna happen," Eklund said.
Kasie Craft, a local mother of four children, has faith in school systems to be able to teach her kids safely.Â
"I know a lot of the teachers there personally, and they wouldn't do anything to jeopardize the students. Becasue they love their students just as much as I love my kids," Craft said.Â
There is pressure on the schools, not only to come up with a plan, but to come up with a plan that parents and child care centers can follow.
"If all the schools in this area did the exact same thing, that would make it easier for the parents, or child care centers, to be able to schedule for that. But when one school does this, and one school does that, it makes it harder for child care centers," Eklund said.
Still, Craft said she is ready to adapt as information comes forward.
"Things change daily right now, and we'll just roll with whatever comes our way and adjust how we need to."
